The departure of Dan Stevens from Downton Abbey was probably for the best
because his character was too happy to remain interesting to viewers,
according to the show's creater Julian Fellowes.

Many television viewers were left distraught when Stevens's character Matthew Crawley was killed off in the Christmas Day episode.

But Lord Fellowes has defended his decision to have Matthew die at a time when everything seemed to be going right for him, saying “nothing is harder to dramatise than happiness”.

The character was blissfully married to Lady Mary Crawley, played by Michelle Dockery, and had just celebrated the birth of his first child when he was killed in a car crash in a shock development that prompted some fans to complain their Christmas had been ruined.

Lord Fellowes said he was “very sorry” that Stevens had decided to leave the hugely-popular ITV1 costume drama and praised him as a “terrific” actor.

However, he argued that portraying a contented marriage between Matthew and Lady Mary would have been of little interest for viewers.

“Actually, nothing is harder to dramatise than happiness. When two people are happy, that's it,” he said.

“That's why in the old movies, they don't kiss and marry in the middle - they kiss and marry at the end, because in a way that's it.

"So now we've got Mary widowed, trying to control the estate, feuding with various other people about what the right way forward is, looking for a new life, dare one say it.

“All of that is really more interesting than two people sitting by the fire having a cup of tea."

Lord Fellowes also made it clear that he intends to bring back Shirley MacLaine, the Hollywood star whose performance as the Countess of Grantham's outspoken American mother, Martha Levinson, irritated some critics.

Asked if the Oscar-winning actress would make another appearance on the show, he said: "She will come back, I'm sure."

The writer said he was currently "under the cosh" completing the scripts for the new series of Downton, which starts filming next month.